LETTER FROM HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN GHANA (updated June 6,
2011) Dear Debbie Marston, It offers me a good opportunity to start expressing my gratitude for your kindness
towards me. And I believe that by the power of the most high, God, you and your family are in good health as I am. May
the Glory of God always be upon you and never depart from you. I am improving in my education and/or academic performance.
Firstly, I am very glad to highlight some important activities that take place in the school, such as sports and athletics.
I have also put in a very great effort in classes; to speak the gospel truth, classes is one of the greatest or is of
utmost importance to my life as I am in school. Secondly, as we have the saying, “if you throw a stone on the
wall, it bounce back to you”. In school or in my class for instance there is a high level of academic competition
in the class, so I tried to help those or people who are weak in some areas of some subject or studies in order for them
also to get something when it is examination time so that they have the capability to produce better grades for themselves
and to the attainment of the inspiration or set goals to be achieved. I promise I am going to study really hard
and smartly, seizing every opportunity to enrich myself and my education. And also, come and share my knowledge I have
gained with the students or brothers and sisters in Baptist School Complex Orphanage whenever we vacate or I vacate from
school, watch I am going to emulate to carry the day and I know I am capable of that. Furthermore, this point is
most important not to be forgotten, is about some of the challenges that I encounter both at school and in the house
after I have come back to BASCO such as food and domestic items. At school I study very hard and I have no option than
to learn, because it was one of my ambitions to go to Senior High school and make something great from school and by
the grace of God, brought to my life such wonderful people like you and Daddy Rev. Victor Ofori-Amoah. Already God is
blessing both of you and he is going to really bless you
in abundance. In addition to these, I make this humble appeal to my own advantage, that if I will be provided with some
elective text books and some notebooks, elective books—History, Geography Economics and Government and some
other Core books like Mathematics, Social Studies, English and Integrated Science. Last but not least, It is my plan
for my future to carry on to further my education as I have also take my time to select the best courses for my career
which will lead me to my dream of studying Law at a University I will work hard all day and all night to reach the highest
point of interest. I would like to end here for now, please send my regards to your family. All your life you shall
not lack anything. Stay blessed.. Issac Asante
St. Paul’s Sunday School Helps Orphanage in Ghana
After traveling down a winding dirt road and passing through dense tropical forests, a clearing appears – a
place where a group of 30 Sunday School kids in Fulton, Maryland, are making a world of difference to 105 orphans and nearly
300 schoolchildren more than 5,000 miles away in Ghana, Africa.
The place is the Baptist Orphanage and School Complex
(BASCO) in Trotor, a small village near the city of Koforidua. It is a place of primitive living conditions on a nine-acre
parcel of land about 70 miles inland from Accra, Ghana’s capital on the West African coast. BASCO was established
by Pastor Victor Ofori-Amoah in 1999 with four children who were abandoned after their parents were killed in a road accident.
Its growth and its connections to a Lutheran church in Howard County, Maryland, is a remarkable story of care, compassion
and commitment by people who live nearly half a world apart but share a deep desire to help children in need.
The
orphanage, which began as a few mud buildings, is an independent nondenominational, faith-based organization which welcomes
children of all faiths. Its Christian practices undergird daily life by providing students with the kind of support
and resiliency they need in the face of adversity – something very familiar to Pastor Victor, who was an orphan himself.
BASCO is certified in Ghana as a non-profit, non-governmental organization, but it receives no direct support from the Ghanian
government. The orphanage survives on small donations from Pastor Victor’s church and donations from outside sources,
some as far away as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fulton.
Diane Winn is a scientist specializing in microbiology
and a member of the St. Paul’s congregation. She, along with her late husband Dan, has worked in Ghana for many
years to develop herbal medicines to combat malaria. During their time in Ghana, the Winn’s brought word to St.
Paul’s about an orphanage that was in dire need of support. The children had no place for learning, so a primary-grade
school building was under construction in 2000, but there was no money for a roof.
The Winn’s approached
St. Paul’s to request $2,500 for the school roof, and the church council approved the request. Thus began a long
and growing relationship with BASCO, including an adoption by Chad Kline, a former assistant pastor, and his wife Christine.
They visited the Winn’s in Ghana and, when taken to the orphanage, they met and fell in love with a young girl.
Today their adopted daughter is a high school student in Howard County.
After the first commitment by St.
Paul’s to provide assistance to the orphanage, Debbie Marston, Sunday School superintendent/Office Administrator,
decided to enlist the Youth Sunday School classes, grades 1-5, in a “let’s see what we can do” effort to
help out with other needs. These efforts took on an entirely new dimension in 2007 when a tropical storm destroyed the
school roof and heavily damaged other structures at the orphanage.
Thus far, the “Let’s see what we
can do” activities – involving about 30 children along with their teachers and parents – have raised nearly
$15,000 and collected many other non-cash donations to support the orphanage and some of the children individually.
The Sunday School projects include:
· Sponsoring a series of bake sales, two “Rainforest
Dinners” with recipes from Ghana, Halloween carnivals, sock hops and other fundraising projects to complete the roof
repairs and support other work at the orphanage.
· Collecting donations of books, school
supplies, flip-flop sandals, and other supplies to send to the school and orphanage.
·
Raising $6,750 to fund tuition for nine children at the orphanage to attend high schools near the orphanage.
·
Collecting nearly 50 board games to send as Christmas presents this year along with money so that the children can have a
proper Christmas dinner.
The BASCO orphanage and school today has 105 orphans and 292 students attending its school.
The orphanage consists of a girls and boys dormitories, four rooms for teachers quarters, girls and boys latrines, dining
hall, auditorium, administrative office, incomplete boys shower, incomplete classrooms, and the beginnings of a computer lab.
Four laptop computers, a digital camera and other equipment have also been donated by families of the Sunday School students
at St. Paul’s.
For more information about this project, contact stpauls@comcast.com. Pictures of the Children and orphanage are on display in the St. Paul’s parish hall.
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NEXT GHANA QUILTING SESSION Our next quilting session will be on Saturday, January 14 at 10AM. If you would
like to join us, please come, we usually have extra sewing machines for you to use.
SHOES AND SOCKS FOR THE CHILDREN IN GHANA
Taking donations of gently used or new shoes for the orphans at Trotor Orphanage
and for the village kids. Shoes/socks need to be dropped off by, unday, January 22. Thin
dress socks, for girls, regular socks for both boys and girls are needed. If you would like to purchase socks/shoes
for a certain child, see Debbie for footprint!
FIRST BATCH OF SHOES ARRIVED IN GHANA The first batch of donated shoes arrived in Ghana. Thanks to Maureen Arndt
who took this flight to get things organized at the Labadi Beach Hotel. Pr. Victor picked up the shoes on Thursday. A
second flight left last Saturday for Ghana and a United Flight Attendant also took a bag of shoes over. Here is a picture
of one families donation, Regina DeLeon, put the word out to her friends and family and she rec’d 89 pairs of shoes.
CANDY HEARTS WANTED We would like to send to Ghana, the boxes of candy hearts for the children for Valentine’s
Day. Since we have another flight going over on January 25, we would need the candy to be back at the church by next Sunday,
the 22nd.
ST. LUCIA DINNER The St. Lucia Dinner raised $647 from free will offering, this money will go towards food
for Christmas dinner at Trotor Orphanage in Ghana.
LASAGNA DINNER RESULTS On Saturday, December 10, 14 youth, 5 adults prepared 64 lasagnas. This resulted in
$1,280 made for tuition with Thrivent Financial giving us an additional $700. This helps with the tuition for
the 2 village kids, Paula, and the 9 juniors (the reason the 9 juniors are included is, the $8000 budget line item does not
cover the tuition for the full year for the 9 of them.
Winter 2011 BACKPACKS FOR GHANA The backpacks for Ghana program will be concluded by the end of this year. We have rec’d donations from some and the Sunday school offering and the
First of the Month club will be donating to the backpack fund and what ever remains a family from St Paul’s will give
what is needed. Thanks to all who made this happen, in all we will have raised funds for 405 backpacks.
HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR 2011 RESULTS The Holiday Craft fair raised $770 in addition to $300 in matching funds from
Thrivent, this goes to tuition for the 2 village children and Pr Victor’s daughter, Paula. Debbie Marston raised
over $800 at the fair selling her baked goods and crafts and jewelry donated by Lisa Slater, this money goes to Healthcare
for 2012 which is $700, the remaining balance will stay in the healthcare items for 2013.
Ghana Tuition Updated August 23, 2011 Tuition Update: The tuition for the new school year for the 9 Juniors we are
sponsoring is $3,940.00. This money will come out of our Budget line item, which had $4,100 left in it, so the $3,940 + fee to wire will take the remaining $4,100. This tuition will
be for September—December 2011. Tuition for the village Kids: The tuition for the 2 village kids for September—December
is $1,330 this will come out of the funds raised at the Rainforest Dinner. Tuition for New Freshmen: $750 for girl/$580 for boy, next term the amount will drop drastically, the first
term requires for the new kids, luggage, school clothes, shoes/socks, church clothes, books, metal box, school supplies, pocket change. We
are going to sponsor Pr. Victor’s daughter, Paula which is $750 for 1st term. We can sponsor 1 more boy @ $580. This is all coming out
of Rainforest Dinner amount plus we received a check from St. Nicholas Lutheran Church in Huntingtown, MD in the amount of $334.21 for
tuition. We have a balance of $960 left (not including the additional $300 due back from Thrivent) in the tuition
fund which will go towards the 2nd term tuition, Jan—April 2012 for the 2 village kids, Eunice Ofori-Amoah and 1 boy of Pr. Victor’s
choosing. The reason we are holding back the $960 +$300 is I don’t know how much we will raise for the Halloween Carnival, Lasagna Dinner or any
other fundraiser we may due between now and December. So, if anyone would like to donate towards tuition, there
are 20 more Freshmen waiting to go to school. To sponsor 1 child for 1 year is $1250. As you can see, we pay by term, but whatever
you can give will help! We are also waiting to hear from Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, they will also be providing financial help, but
at this time I don’t know how much. We ARE making a difference in these children’s lives.
DID YOU KNOW? THINGS ABOUT TROTOR ORPHANAGE - updated
5/31/11 • The reason we call the Rainforest
Dinner the Rainforest Dinner is because the orphanage is in the middle of a Rainforest. • There are 105 orphans at Trotor Orphanage and 305 children come to get an education,
elementary— middle school. • St. Paul’s
is the sole sponsor for the orphanage. • St. Paul’s
is sponsoring 9 Sophomores and 2 Village Freshmen to get an education. • St. Paul’s Sunday School kids are pen pals with the orphans in Ghana. • If we raise $1,800 at the Rainforest Dinner, Thrivent Financial will match us with
$900.
Letters from Ghana Attached are 2 letters from the students St Paul's is sponsoring. One
letter is from Elizabeth, she is one of the village kids, the other is from one of the High school sophomore's we are sponsoring. More letters will be coming along with Pr
Victor when he comes to visit us in June. So much is needed for these wonderful kids!! --Debbie
Elizabeth Letter
Eunice Letter
Latest Outreach
Updated
01/16/11
BACKPACK UPDATEThe funds keep coming
in and we are now up to 94 backpacks. Still a ways to go, but we will get there! Thanks to those who are helping us
reach our goal of 405 backpacksBACKPACKS FOR BASCO GHANA
$5 DONATION = 1 BACKPACK
Make checks payable to: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Mark “backpack” in memo! You can place your donation in the basket in the Narthex or give your donation to Debbie!
Updated 9/22/10 - Barbies for Ghana Christmas and other things
We are short on Barbies for the girls at the orphanage, we need 47, we have collected about 5, we are almost to the amount
we need for the matchbox cars. The uniforms have been completed, thanks to all who helped fund this! Still waiting
on the final amount from Cheeburger fundraiser and then the Pampered Chef will be closing out the end of the month.
We need about 5 messenger bags, we've had 9 donated. Pencils, pencils pencils, we want to give the Children in the Village
pencils for Christmas,we need alot of pencils, anything you can donate will be greatly appreciated! We will continue
to collect backpacks until we get the amount we have, so continue to bring them in! Thanks to all who have donated to
all of the causes in Ghana. -- Debbie
PAMPERED CHEF FUNDRAISER SHOW TO BENEFIT THE 9 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
IN GHANA (TUITION)
Here is a quote from one of the Jr. High students about education. “Investing in a
child’s education is like investing into a business, in order to gain a bountiful profit.” During the month of
September, I will be holding a Pampered Chef Fundraiser show to benefit the 9 High School students in Ghana for tuition.
I received word from Pr Victor last week, and it will cost $3525 to send the 9 high school students to school for their 2nd
year for the first term. There will be catalogs available September 5th. Pampered Chef will donate up to 20% of
sales and I will donate my commission also. Thanks! Debbie
UNIFORMS FOR THE CHILDREN IN GHANAUpdated 8/3/10
If you would like to donate towards new uniforms for the children in Ghana, pick a tag off of one of the Christmas
trees, fill out the tag and lay in the basket by the Christmas tree and put your donation in theoffering plate!! We have raised over $340 so far, still have a ways to go.
Thanks for your support!!
100 Hundred People to Donate $7.00 for Healthcare for the Orphans
in Ghana Pastor Victor has to upgrade each child’s
insurance card which in total costs $700.00. So if 100 people donate $7.00 we can help him pay for this cost. If you would
like to donate $7.00 towards the healthcare costs, please give y our donation to Debbie Marston! I know we can do this!! Update 5/3/10 -- To date, we have collected almost $300 for
the healthcare of the orphans in Ghana. We need $400 more to raise to reach the goal of $700, so that the children can get
their shots! Stop in the Parish Hall to purchase baked goods and /or carnations! Your support for Ghana is greatly
appreciated!
Sign-up to Donate a Rainforest Raffle Basket
We
still have baskets available for you to donate to our Raffle. Sign-up on the sheet in the Narthex! We want to
raise enough money to send 24 children to high school in the fall, this is a HUGE task as it costs $750 per year, so with
the help from the Giraffe Spots, the Rainforest Dinner and the raffle baskets we hope we can send at least more than 9 in
the fall. We thank you for your this ongoing effort in Ghana!
GIRAFFE SPOTS ON SALE THIS SUNDAY -- We will
once again be selling giraffe spots to help fund the tuition of 9 children in Ghana! Our giraffes are becoming very
colorful, thanks to all who have already purchased spots. We will continue to sell the spots throughout March and April.
Past Outreach
PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN BUNDT CAKES FOR MOTHER’S DAY
Would you like one of Debbie’s pineapple cakes for Mother’s Day or just because, pre-order your cakes now!
Fill out the form in the bulletin and give to Debbie Marston by Sunday, April 18th!
Each Pineapple Bundt Cake costs
$7.00. All proceeds will go to Ghana for healthcare costs. Pick up cakes on Mother’s Day, May 9th!
Items Shipped to Ghana
1/11/09
Last week, Debbie shipped 5 flat rate boxes to Ghana, in those boxes were 2 laptops, school supplies, a book narrated by
Miss Debbie for Christmas and 9 pen pal letters that Miss Debbie wrote to the 9 in high school.
Sunday School Outreach To Ghana
1/4/09
Over $1900.00 was wired to Ghana for tuition and food. What a great outreach from the Sunday
School students and staff of St. Pauls.
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